Arkansas’ football problems run far deeper than the coach on the sideline, and Ryan Silverfield isn’t pretending otherwise.
The first-year Razorbacks coach made that clear Monday as the program continued to absorb the fallout from a 1-2 start and the larger reality that Arkansas is badly lagging behind SEC rivals in football spending. The numbers, as revealed Monday, only sharpened the spotlight on a program that has now dropped 12 straight games to Power Conference opponents dating back to Week 2 last season.
Silverfield, who inherited the job last November, said he believes in the roster he has.
"I like our roster," Silverfield said on Monday. "I like the young men we have, and we're going to go out there and fight and compete."
That line sounds familiar because former coach Sam Pittman used to lean on a similar message. It is one thing to say when a team is hanging around in one-score games. It is something else entirely when the gap between Arkansas and the opponent looks much larger.
Still, Saturday brought a different feel. Against Georgia, a team expected to compete for a national championship, Arkansas showed more pride and more fight than it had earlier in the season. The effort stood out, even in defeat.
Silverfield said the issue is bigger than just what happens on Saturdays.
"Are we going to continue to work to improve our resources here at the University of Arkansas? Absolutely," Silverfield continued.
"I knew this job was not going to be easy, we talked about it when I first got here. There’s a reason why we’ve won one Power Four home game in the last three years, but it’s my job to fix that.
"And I make no doubts, no excuses, no explanations. We will get this fixed and we will get it turned around in the right direction, because we have a bunch of guys that believe and they’re going to keep fighting. And our job is to continue to improve the resources, to better give ourselves opportunity each and every time we take the field."
The larger issue for Arkansas is hard to miss. A once-proud football program has slipped into a place that is difficult to explain, especially in a state where Walmart is one of the first names that comes to mind. The disconnect between the program and the resources around it has become impossible to ignore.
A recent NILnomics report pointed to Arkansas’ last-place rank in SEC football roster spending, and that has put even more attention on how the program got here. Silverfield can only control so much. His responsibility is what happens on the field.
The administration, though, is just as much on the hook for whether he gets the support needed to turn the program around. If the money is there, there is no reason to wait. The task now is to move it in a direction that gives Arkansas a real chance to compete again.
In Other News...
Tre Lamb Just Added More Pressure To Arkansas Before Tulsa
Arkansas heads into its meeting with Tulsa knowing this is the kind of nonconference game that can shape the early feel around a season, especially with a tough league slate waiting just down the road. Tulsa arrives unbeaten at 3-0 and already owns a win over Oklahoma State, which gives this matchup a little more weight than the usual September tune-up and makes it harder for the Razorbacks to treat it like anything other than a must-handle business trip.
Tre Lamb has only sharpened that edge with his recent comments, pointing out how uncommon it is for Group of Six teams to knock off Power Four opponents and drawing attention to Arkansas own scheduling choices and past results. For a Razorbacks team trying to build momentum, the noise around Tulsa is not just about what happens on the field, but about the pressure that comes with knowing a loss would land badly before the SEC grind fully hits. [Read more 🡒]
Arkansas Faces A Bigger Problem Than Tulsa This Week
Tulsa brings an unbeaten record into Fayetteville and a rushing attack that can make life uncomfortable for any defense, but Arkansas has its own concerns to sort through before kickoff. The Razorbacks have spent too much time searching for a steady ground game and a reliable rhythm at quarterback, and those issues have made even seemingly manageable matchups feel more complicated than they should.
The larger question this week is whether Arkansas can settle those spots quickly enough to take control early and avoid letting Tulsa hang around. A shaky start would only add pressure to a defense that has already had to carry more than its share, and the uncertainty surrounding the starting quarterback gives this game an edge beyond the usual nonconference tune-up. [Read more 🡒]
Arkansas Heads Into Tulsa With One Problem Fans Can't Ignore
Arkansas heads into its final non-conference game of the season at Tulsa with the kind of matchup wrinkle coaches usually notice right away. Tulsa is expected to be without starting quarterback Baylor Hayes because of a knee injury, which would put Dexter Williams in line to start, and that changes the look of an offense Arkansas has been studying closely. Ryan Silverfield said he has spent time breaking down Tulsas style and, as always this time of year, the Razorbacks are trying to clean up what they can before the schedule gets deeper.
For Arkansas, the bigger concern is still closer to home. Silverfield acknowledged the teams struggles in the rushing game, with the Razorbacks sitting near the bottom nationally in that category, and that remains the kind of issue that can shadow a team even in a game it expects to control. He also noted the continuing fundraising push around the program after a recent Board of Trustees review, another reminder that what happens off the field is still tied to the resources Arkansas believes it needs on it. [Read more 🡒]